Mixashawn, a Hartford resident and musician, stands by the Connecticut River at Charter Oak Landing. Photos by Shana Sureck.

Mixashawn grew up in Hartford, and has been swimming in the Connecticut River his entire life.

Hartford area residents take to the river for a pre-dawn row, leaving from the Boathouse at Riverside Park.

The earliest rowers bring their boats in from the Connecticut River, returning them to the boat house at Riverside Park.

A solo rower sculling at dawn on the Connecticut River.

A team of eight takes to the Connecticut River for weekly practice. The river at dawn is quiet and beautiful.

Radius co-host Julia Pistell rows on the Connecticut River. She learned to row in a class offered at the boat house in Riverside Park.

Rowing instructor Hector Diaz rides along the river.

As the morning light rises over the trees, a team of eight rows on the Connecticut River.

A team of four rows on the Connecticut River.

Rebecca Likar, Rec Team Coordinator at the riverfront rowing program, shouts instructions to her team.

Rowers describe early morning on the Connecticut River as an expansive sense of being in nature, even as the city rises behind them.

Ice builds up where the Connecticut River meets land at Riverside Park.

John Mullaney, USGS hydrologist, sits on the shore of the chilly Connecticut River.

In the early 1900s, the Front Street neighborhood was full of Italian and Jewish immigrants. After the floods in the '30s caused destruction in the neighborhood, urban planners saw potential in its real estate. It was torn down for urban renewal. Today, it is being brought back to life, blocks from its original location.

The facade of the former Hartford Times Building, at the northern edge of Front Street, is part of the city's plan for redevelopment of the area.

Infinity Music Hall and Bistro is one of Front Street's anchors.

A view of the Charter Oak Bridge where it crosses the Connecticut River joining Hartford and East Hartford. Photo courtesy Riverfront Recapture, Inc.

Long before it was our capital city, the Connecticut River shaped the land in and around Hartford. It’s been a settling place for Native Americans, Dutch explorers, and Jewish migrants. Today we may not even notice it because it’s been walled off and separated from our daily lives.

“There’s something about being in a city atmosphere, and having something so beautiful, and calm, and relaxing alongside it,” said rower Rebecca Likar early one morning. “It’s absolutely beautiful. You have the city lights. There’s so much wildlife, which is crazy.”

The river is a great resource now in part because of all the effort that went into cleaning it up. It’s become a much healthier waterwaysince 1972, when the Clean Water Actwas implemented. Before then, a lot of industrial waste went directly into the river, including untreated sewage. Today, it’s so clean it’s even safe to swim in. Well, mostly. U.S. Geological Survey hydrologist John Mullaney said he still might hold off after a heavy rainfall.

The Connecticut River is also susceptible to floods. In this episode ofRadius, we learn about what one synagogue community had to do to save its Torah scrolls when the water started rising in 1936. Riverfront businesses and homes were devastated, and the Jewish community on Hartford’s Front Street was hit hard.

“I am still in awe of the wonderful contributions that the Jewish community made to Hartford,” said Estelle Kafer of the Jewish Historical Society of Greater Hartford — like Gerson Fox, the founder of G. Fox, and famous vaudeville performer Sophie Tucker. Tucker’s father had a restaurant on Front Street where she would sing songs as a young girl.

Hartford’s riverfront has undergone a lot of change. The city razed the Front Street district in the 1960s after the floods, and it built Constitution Plaza in its place. Since then, Hartford has been trying to bring people back to the river.

Connecticut Riverfront Extras:

At the end of the 19th century, Hartford’s Front Street was a settling place for many immigrants – bustling with Jews, Irish, and Italian families that lived in tight tenement housing, and worked in retail or local factories. Learn more »

Listen to more audio from the Connecticut River radius:

Join WNPR as we map Hartford in a new way, searching for perspective on the city — its beauties, its issues, and most importantly its people.

Comments

Wonderful “new way” for displaying the great resources and historical sites Hartford offers and our
State of CT. Compliments to the visionary and efforts of WNPR for The Radius Project. Very rewarding
“front seat” viewing!!